The World of RSS

Today I began a quest to delve into the world of RSS (Real Simple Syndication).

RSS is a way for us web-content-oholics to easily be continually updated of the latest content from our favorite sites. For instance, I have several blogs as well as business news sites that I keep my eye on throughout the day. By downloading a "newsfeed-reader" and subscribing to the RSS feeds that I am interested in, I am now able to be notified throughout the day - via headlines - of news stories that are posted on the various sites I visit.

What is a "newsfeed-reader?"
A newsfeed-reader is a lightweight software program that collects the RSS feeds that you specify and then organizes them in a headline format (I downloaded Feedreader and have been happy with its performance and ease of use thus far). This makes it easy for users to quickly scan the headlines for content that is of interest.

Below are links to sites that I found the most usefully as I navigated the world of RSS. Happy RSSing.

History
How To 'RSS'
CNET RSS Directory

Google Earth

As an update to my post on June 14th, Google has now made available a beta version of what they have come to call Google Earth. This is an addition to Google maps that will allow web users to zoom in to a location from space using the Google Keyhole 3D satellite technology. You can download your own free copy of the lightweight software here. Happy flying!

Hello, My Name Is Mike Fuller and I Am A No-Software-oholic

Ahh... Salesforce.com does it again.

As you will be able to tell from this post, I am a long time user and advocate of Salesforce.com. I have watched them grow and am marveled at their consistent delivery of innovative solutions - solutions that don't just make customers happy, mind you, they make them down right giddy!

A large part of this success comes straight from the top with their rock-solid team at the helm - including the flamboyant and always crowd pleasing Marc Benioff - who kind of reminds me of a mix between Howard Stern, Mark Cuban, and Bill Gates. Maybe he will soon be known as the, "King of All AnitSoftware"

With every great announcement and all the news that they are down right kicking the heck out of the competition, I get more and more bullish on their future. I'm not only bullish on what they are currently providing in the way of CRM software (just the tip of the iceberg), but also the approach they have taken to delivering this software (ie. OnDemand).

I think OnDemand or hosted software solutions that are delivered via the web is where the industry is going. After selling Enterprise software and hardware for the past four years, it's clear to me that this paradigm shift is here to stay and will eventually transform the entire software industry (listen up Mr. Softy aka. Microsoft). It's what the customers want and Salesforce.com is leading the pack in delivering it to them (hint: giving the customers what they what is a great way to be successful).

This week Salesforce.com announced their new Summer '05 release and because it is a hosted OnDemand platform, they were able to roll out it out to all 15,500 customers and 267,000 users simultaneously across the globe with a flick of a switch. Do that with legacy software! Oh, and this was of course, at no additional charge to the customers. Giddy yet?

The delivery of this software is not only innovative but the software itself is some of the most intuitive, powerful, and innovative that I've ever seen. To add to there already impressive arsenal of solutions, they have continued to announce new products like this weeks announcement of Multiforce 1.0 - referred to as, "the first OnDemand operating system." Now, you are all not going to be reformatting your drives this weekend, tossing out Windows, and accessing Mulitforce on your home PCs, but this release shows the potential of the OnDemand-software-shift. I think there are many watching, and many that should be watching because this ship is sailing full steam ahead. The folks that don't pay attention are going to be fast at work rearranging the seats on the Titanic, while companies like Salesforce.com are sailing all the way to the bank.

So... my advise, .... close your eyes click your heals together three times and say, "there is no software like OnDemand Software." I'll see you all in the Emerald City!

PS. Google may be the biggest OnDemand player of them all here in the near future.. keep a keen eye on the dynamic duo in the GooglePlex.

A Jinx?

Over the last four years, I have felt there could be a bit of a "business-jinx" following me throughout my career. That's right... a curse, if you will. Those of you who know me, have shared many a laugh talking about this phenomena, but in the end we have always put it off to coincidence saying, "well, it couldn't happen again." However, it just keeps happening and then happening again and with each occurrence it gets more and more bizarre.

Today it was the announcement of the FDA's warning to Medtronic on their external defibrillators... external what??? ... we'll get back to that.

Let me explain (the short short version):

IBM
(The build-up)
- After graduating with a degree in Computer Engineering, I was offered a job with IBMs Enterprise Storage Division
- They were so excited to find a Computer Engineer who had already spent 3 years at IBM and was willing to sell, that they offered to move me wherever I wanted to go
- Focused on jump-starting my career I asked them to place me in the "best possible opportunity"
- They came back with an opportunity in their hottest new enterprise storage venture (Network Attached Storage) - putting me in charge of Enterprise Storage Networking Sales for the entire Pacific Northwest
- I then got the opportunity to work on the largest IBM NAS proposal in the country (worth $1.6M upfront and a potential to produce $1M per year in revenues over the next few years)

1 year later (The knockout)
After a complete exercise in Murphy's Law...
- IBM ceases any further development on the IBM Network Attached Storage line
- My job, as well the nation wide sales team, management, and development team are out (including my Mentor - IBM Vet of 25 years)
- The entire Enterprise Storage Division is dissolved
- IBM now Sells the competition's product


Unnamed Startup
(The build-up)
- Get hired as the youngest sales rep in a newly venture backed and red-hot startup
- Land one of the first true installations of our flagship product

(The Knockout)
- Things start to get shaky we lower the price point of our product line by 50%
- People begin to leave and be forced to leave...
- Sales continues to falter
- We lower the price point again to .. uh free
- VP of Engineering leaves
- VP of Sales leaves
- CEO leaves
- Company cuts back to 50% of peak employees
- Wages get cut
- Product is discontinued and development is halted indefinitely.
- Fuller leaves...


Marsh Mclennan
(The build-up)
- Get hired with a division of Marsh that is called MAA

4 Months Later (The knockout)
- MAA gets dissolved
- Hiring manager and manager's manager leave (another 25 year vet), as well as most of my colleagues

(More build-up)
- I am able to get on board with the Marsh side of the business

3 Months Later (The knockout continues)
- My new division, Marsh, gets sued by Elliot Spitzer and the SEC
- Marsh Stock drops 50% in 3 days
- We get hit by nation wide layoffs and start the largest corporate restructuring in the company's history


Flip to present:
Marsh has actually been a great learning experience and now I'm moving to yet another company under the MMC umbrella called Mercer HR Consulting - nothing bad to report yet.


Other tid-bits that happened along the way...

IBM again
(The build-up)
- Interviewed and got offered a position selling IBM PC's - specifically the IBM Thinkpad line
- I turned the offer down, however, the curse was already rolling...

One Month Later (The knockout)
- Chinese Firm (Lenovo) buys IBM's PC business
- IBM PC sales rep positions are dissolved across the nation



... and the latest

Medtronic
- FDA warns Medtronic over their Lifepak External Defibrillators
"... FDA said an investigation found the medical device maker did not correct damaged pins and broken wiring in the medical defibrillators' cable connectors."

I was offered a job with Medtronic last year to ... you guessed it, sell their Lifepak External Defibrillators. I would have been in charge of Enterprise Sales for the Pacific Northwest and was told by the head hunter and hiring manager quote, "This is huge opportunity that you just can't turn down... " I turned the job down, but it looks like it was too late, the curse was already in motion.


.... always just waiting to see what's next.

Amazon.com Brings Bob Dylan Back to Seattle

In celebration of its10th year anniversary, Amazon.com is hosting a concert featuring Bob Dylan, Norah Jones, and others. The concert will be held on July 16th at Seattle's Benaroya Hall (right across the street from my office in Downtown Seattle.) The concert will be hosted by Bill Maher, and will also feature some of amazon.com's most popular artists of music and books.

So how do you get tickets? You can't. This is a concert for friends and family of employees. Therefore, my advice would be to quickly become friends with or merry into the family of an amazon.com employee. If that is too much of a commitment for you Dylan fans out there, then the other alternative is watching it live over your PC. Ahhhhhh technology... yep, amazon.com will be streaming the concert live over the Internet and you can sign up to receive the feed and other great information here. Happy streaming!

Cell Holster

Well ladies, it looks like someone (Tsaya to be exact) has come up with a nifty holster to allow today's cell-phone-toting-female-socialite to keep her phone, credit card, ID, and cash "strapped" while out and about on the town.

Now, I can't speak for the entire population of female cell users, but from the population that I know, having a place to put the phone, credit cards, and ID when going out on the town has always been a problem. Most of the time they have no pockets or if they do, they are too tight for a phone (which we wouldn't want to change), and taking out a small bag is a hassle. The result is usually a lost phone, or ID... or even worse the whole bag.

Another point to mention is Tsaya's marketing strategy for the holster. They are promoting a virtual menage-a-trois marketing approach, which is basically a way of promoting a word-of-mouth sales strategy. They are offering $10 for every referral purchase that is made - with no limit. So, you refer to a friend, they buy a Tsaya and 14 days after they get the product Tsaya sends you $10 via PayPal. Not bad... might even work. Either way I think it's an innovative solution to a problem I have personally laid witness.

To send out a referral you can get started here. Happy Holstering!

Google Continues to Build on It's Vision for Google Maps

As Google continues to build on its outside-of-the-box-offerings, the SilliconVallyWatcher reported that Google is now working on 3D functionality for its Google Maps offering. Googlites have recently been working along side Stanford PHD students to map San Francisco in 3D using digital photography and laser technology with future plans in other major cities. This will eventually allow Google Maps users to take a virtual fly-by tour from one destination to the next as they explore directions using Google Maps. This will also open up the opportunity for Google to further expand its avenues for online advertising, which as a share holder will hopefully continue to fuel that exponential growth!

Book Reivew: "Winning"

I love to read and over the past five years the domain of my reading interests has held steady with business books, technology text, and historical nonfiction. With that said, I just finished Jack Welch's new book, Winning, and thought I'd leave a little "Fuller" synopsis on my blog... so here it is.

Chapter1: Mission and Values
- Always Have a clear message
- Keep it simple
- Make it something that employees can rally behind

Chapter 2: Candor
- Create an open and sharing environment
- Allow for honest feedback
- Reward openness and idea sharing
- Always be open for constructive criticism
- Everyone should be heard

Chapter 3: Differentiation
- Invest where the rewards are highest (focus)
- Be quick to cut your losses - don't get blinded and hold on too long
- People (20 / 70 / 10)
-- spoil the "20
-- kill the "10
-- Cultivate the "70

Chapter 4: Leadership
- Motivate, Motivate, Motivate - make sure people live and breath the mission
- Get into their skin (exude energy)
- Establish trust
- Must have the courage to make unpopular decisions
- Probe and push with curiosity
- Inspire risk
- Celebrate
- Build self confidence
- Never score off of your people's ideas
- You are not a leader to win a popularity contest

-- Sidebar (what Jack would look for in a good leader)
- Be comfortable in your own skin
- Ability to excite others (exude energy)
- Maturity
- Edge (ability to make tough decisions, etc)
- Positive energy, positive outlook
- Integrity (ability to admit mistakes)
- Passion (always looking to learn and grow)

Chapter 5: Strategy
- Ponder less and do more (don't make things more complex than they have to be)
- You need:
1. A big Aha - finding the "aha" should be a bottom up event
2. People to execute - need the skills
3. Best practices (constantly improve them)
- Talk to sales people and anyone close to the customer
- Know what your competition eats for breakfast

Awww.... Excess

The Maybach Exelero - 700 Hp V12 ... all I can say is "yes please"






The World's Biggest Megayacht - 482.6 Ft, Helipad, Full-Sized Swimming Pool, Disco, and Cinima. Accommodations - 25 owner suites, 6 guest suites, and 5 VIP suites all coming to a cool $550M






The Burj Al Arab - (Dubai) Soaring at 321 Meters this all suite hotel reflects the some of the finest the world has to offer. Let me paint a picture: Roll up in your chauffeur driven Rolls Royce to a private check in at you floors reception desk - yes each floor has its own reception desk - and then turn things over to what they describe as the "brigade of highly trained butlers" who provide personal 24 hour service. And I've been spending all this time in the Holiday Inn Express down the street... woops.

For more interesting info on these check out www.gizmag.com

IBM's New 9-Core Cell Chip Hit's 5.6 GHz

"Cell - coming soon to a broadband device near you!"

After four years and over $400 Million, IBM has secretly co-developed a multiprocessor that has redefined the way multiprocessors are designed. This chip, known as Cell, is of a new breed of processor known as "multicore", meaning chips with more than one processing core burned into the same piece of silicon.

So.... where are Intel and AMD? Well, they have been busy announcing dualcore processors, however, the Cell chip skipped 2, 3, and even 4 to come in at a staggering 9 cores. Did I hear a 9'er in there??? Yes, 9 cores. I'd say... "thanks for playing." And just for some salt on the rim, I also heard rumor that the Intel design may not hold up when push comes to shove... but that remains to be seen.

In a recent test they topped the Cell chip out at over 5.6 gigahertz before popping it's voltage regulator (Business 2.0). The chip was designed for the newest Sony Playstation consol, but I have a feeling we will be seeing it in a number of the new consumer devices slated for the future. Good work to the IBM team in Austin and we look forward to the functionality we will get out of this new design!

Choose Your Weapon

Last week while pouring through the laundry list of things that need to be accomplished before I start Graduate School, I found that a laptop is now a required utensil for grad students. With today's growing reliability on information technology, it seems we need to have a computer at our disposal at all times, which as an aspiring Techno-Entrepreneur is at least reassuring to my career aspersions. Therefore, the last couple of weeks I have started the process of researching my grad school "weapon of choice."

Now with my career start at IBM and blood continuing to flow blue, I feel the IBM Thinkpad line - dissipate the recent take over by Lenovo - is still the cadillac of notebook computing. Over the years I have owned several Thinkpads and have not found any other brand that compares. Therefore, a Thinkpad it will be... now, I just need to decide on the right model.

With careful consideration and plenty of laptop review reading, I have finally decided on the IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad T43. When pouring through reviews I found www.notebookreview.com to be the most informative website for information on all the latest laptop offerings as well as instrumental to my decision on the T43.

I also considered the Thinkpad X41 but decided a little more weight was worth the extra horse power and onboard optical drive. The X41 is Thinkpad's new ultraportable offering and while coming in at less that 3 lbs with heavy horsepower it lacks some of the swiss army features that the T43 offers.

As for purchasing, I am going to hold off for a few months to pull the trigger (in hopes prices may lower), but will purchase through the ibm.com website. I still have ties at IBM and through the employee purchase program should be able to get a 25% discount.

MBA Time

Well, after two years of researching, studying, essay writing, and campus visiting, I have decided to stay here in Seattle and persue my MBA at the University of Washington. After careful consideration, I felt it would be the most bang for the buck. They have recently moved up in the rankings to #18, according to the latest US News and World Report rankings, and over my last four years here in the Seattle area I have made quite a network of local business elitists that I feel will be extremely beneficial post MBA.

Stay tuned to read about my trials and tribulations as I navigate through the world of "Student Redux."

About Me

Real Name: Michael D. Fuller
Current Occupation: Business Development Executive
Degrees: Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering (University of Arizona)
Hometown: Kingman, AZ
Currently Living: Seattle, WA
Goals: Continually educate and improve my knowledge of business, history, and the world in which we live.

Education

University of Washington – Seattle, WA

Candidate for Masters of Business Administration (class of 2007) – Technology Entrepreneurship

Candidate for the Center for Technology Entrepreneurship Certification

Candidate for the UWBS E-Business Certification

University of Arizona - Tucson, AZ

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering May 2001

Golden Key National Honors Society

Beta Theta Pi Fraternity – IFC chairman & Class President

IBM Global Sales School – Atlanta, GA

IBM SSM Sales University – Graduated in the top 5%

IBM Storage Sales “Top Gun” & IBM Software Sales “Top Gun”

Certified in the IBM Signature Selling Methodology (SSM)

Work Experience

Marsh & McLennan/Mercer HR Consulting – Seattle WA 2003-present

Business Development Executive

o Member of the Seattle Business Development Team focused on expansion of the Northwest middle-market business

o Managed all aspects of prospect development pre-sale through to closing as well as continual management of client relationships throughout the sales process

o American Electronic Association (AeA) team lead – maintained the AeA & Marsh relationship as well as managed all new AeA clients

o Initiated a research project to map all innovative new-to-market HR-technology solutions

o Built and lead Marsh teams to provide complete solutions that resulted in new business

o Successfully completed the Marsh Business Development Sales Program with top recognition

o Was recognized as a team player and was the team lead for several Marsh sponsored charity events

Teracloud Corporation – Bellevue WA 2002-2003

Sales Executive

o Was part of a team tasked with building Teracloud’s Enterprise Storage Software business – took ownership of the Pacific Northwest Territory consisting of WA, OR, ID, MT, UT, and AK

o Maintained a $1.1 M new business revenue target – lead Business Development team in goal achievement

o Top performer in prospect development – led the company in new product installations

o Helped create the sales strategy for the ‘04 software rollout, including the development of the “sales kit” consisting of presentations, whitepapers, and customer deliverables to be used by the entire company

o As the “sales kit” team lead, was chosen to present the’04 sales focus to the entire company

o Successfully built relationships with solution related executive groups and industry partners

o Became fluent with Salesforce.com for management of customer relationships and helped train the entire sales team

o Showed the ability to excel in a small start-up environment

IBM Corporation – Seattle WA/Tucson AZ 1998-2002

Storage Networking Sales Specialist

o Managed the sales of IBM Enterprise Storage (SAN & NAS) solutions including all reseller relationships for the Pacific Northwest (WA, OR, ID, UT, MT, and AK)

o Successfully maintained a $12M team quota and a $3.2M personal quota

o Was the team lead on the largest IBM NAS proposal ($1.6M) during the 2001-2002 time frame managing a 30 person team during an 8 month process

o Became proficient in the justification, configuration, and consultation of all IBM storage solutions and used this knowledge to write three IBM whitepapers that were eventually published on the IBM website

o Expertise included all IBM storage hardware and software solutions along with IBM partner components such as McData, Brocade, Inrange, Precise WQuinn, and DataCore Enterprise solutions

o Obtained ‘Top Gun’ recognition from the IBM Sales University

Qualcomm Inc - Tucson, AZ 1997-1998

Network Development Sales Consultant

o In charge of photo simulation sales and design of projected network sites

o Worked with city planning and zoning, MTG Telecommunications, and RF engineers

o Contracted to sell projected telecommunications sites to community representatives and property developers

o Working with Adobe Photoshop and Kodak DC40 digital camera technologies

o Received recognition for successfully assisting Qualcomm and MTG certify 36 sites in less than four months

Fuller Graphics - Tucson, AZ 1996-1999

Owner/CEO

o Recognized a need for Photo Simulation services and started a business to deliver these services to large telecommunication companies

o Clients included: Sprint PCS, Qualcomm-MTG, and US West/Qwest

o Built a reputation of providing top quality photo simulations that were delivered faster and at a lower cost than any other competitor

o Required extensive teaming with city planning and zoning, Lucent Technologies, and area attorneys

Hobbies/Activities

Clubs/Organizations:

The Northwest Entrepreneurial Network (NWEN) – active team member of the membership board

American Electronics Association (AeA) – active member of the membership and HR committees

Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Seattle Networkers, University of Arizona Alumni Assoc, and Beta Theta Pi Alumni Assoc

Charities: Member of Big Brothers Big Sisters fundraising Magic Council, a “Big Brother” for Big Brothers Big Sisters of King County, active coach for the First Tee of Greater Seattle, team captain for Northwest Junior Achievement, and active participant with March of Dimes Walk America

Sports: Currently active in Golf, softball, volleyball, flag football, and soccer